PENNSYVANIA - Part 1

Penn Station, in New York, is appropriately named. We’re leaving here for Pennsylvania today. The station itself is a rabbit warren of a maze, especially if you’re in a wheelchair looking for that elusive ramp or lift to the next level. While Grand Central Station is massive, with soaring ceilings, stone walls, and magnificent artwork, Penn Station is cramped with low ceilings, dry wall, and has all the charm of the post office.

It’s hard to navigate our way through. Penn Station has notoriously bad signage, and it takes us a couple of laps to figure out where we’re going. We finally find the Amtrak ticket counter and lounge and also receive the bad news that there will be no checked baggage on this train. Our big suitcase (we all share one big suitcase along with each of our small carryons…you just can’t avoid checked baggage with a wheelchair) will have to ride with us.

Once the hectic pace is done and we board our train, with the help of Amtrak’s staff and a wheelchair lift, it’s a quick, 75 minute ride through the “scenic” wonders of New Jersey to the station in Philadelphia.

We pick up our rental car, a Suzuki Grand Vitara…which my wife keeps calling the Grand Viagra. It’s doable with a manual chair and is not too hard to transfer Tim into the front passenger seat. It is pretty stained due to sitting under a wet, rusty roof in the parking lot. As long as it runs well, which it does.

We head west out of Philly to our destination of West Chester. Our intention is to stay in this quieter suburb and take the train into Philadelphia for sightseeing and activities. Arriving at the West Chester Microtel, we notice a lot of construction going on. We booked Microtel because you can guarantee a roll-in shower on their web site. I had called the week before to confirm that. However…

We are told that the lady staying in the room we had booked does not want to leave and that there is nothing the hotel can do. Funny, because I remember being told “no” in no uncertain terms once when I wanted to extend my stay because someone else had booked that particular room.

What to do now...I was offered another room at the hotel but there was no other accessible room that we could use. I was adamant that it had to be accessible, Tim needed somewhere to bathe. The manager offered to put us up at another nearby hotel. I agreed as long as it was an accessible room.

The “best he could do” was the Microtel at the Philadelphia airport. I told him that I specifically avoided that location because I did not want to be near the airport…which was also not close to where we were. I was told it’s only a 30 minute drive and basically “take it or leave it.”

A 2-hour drive later puts us as the Microtel, Philadelphia airport. Indeed, it was an accessible room with roll-in shower and a good staff. The whole experience, especially when I complained to the corporate office and the manager of the West Chester location e-mailed me back, angry that I had complained when they had “done so much” to accommodate us, put me off of the Microtel brand…which usually comes highly recommended by travelers with special needs.

Bad hotel experience behind us, we decide to enjoy what we can. It’s a Thursday morning, so we decide to take a drive around the city to see what we can find before we go to our ball game.

We’re driving around, just south of downtown, when we make a random turn and find blocks full of old looking stalls looking like something from Little Italy around the turn of the 20th century. It’s looks very interesting, so we park and start walking around. It turns out that we stumbled onto the Italian Market (forgive me, but I’d never heard of it before), a marvelous place with many old-time grocers, meat markets, cheese shops, fish mongers, bookstores, and restaurants spilling out into their stalls in the street. We find a place that sells pizza for breakfast (!), have a couple of slices along with donuts and coffee.

It’s a lot of fun just exploring. We go into a nearby butcher shop, D’ Angelo Brothers, and get some dried meat for later. I ask the lady working behind the counter what the deal is with this neighborhood and she explains to me that it has changed relatively little over the last 100 years or so. Families still run their businesses, as theirs does, being passed down through the generations. She shows me a butcher block, worn down into curves, that has been in continuous use for over a century.

What a fascinating place. We continue on looking in all the shops.

Come game time, we head even farther south to Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies. It’s a day game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Being an Angel fan, Tim despises the Dodgers so he finds it easy to root for the home team. I’m pretty much indifferent about L.A.’s team. I liked them when they were owned by the O’ Malleys; lost some enthusiasm when Fox ran the team; and can’t stand the ownership team of the McCourts so I heartily cheered the Phillies on too.  Our seats were in the second deck, in right field, on a straight line with second and third base.

Being at the top row of that level, we were shaded on what turned out to be a hot and humid day. Surrounded by 5 food stands, a souvenir shop, and nearby restrooms, we were set.

We had a great view and hung out with some great Philly fans that were gracious and friendly with the out-of-towners. The staff was friendly too. We had some great ushers who kept our area clear and told us where the best food in the stadium was.

The "Pool Suite" at Citizen's Bank Park

Unfortunately, our cheering didn’t work because the Phillies went down to the Dodgers that day but they’d rebound to make the playoffs and then take the World Series the next season.

That game ended this trip’s baseball stadium quest with three more stadiums added to the list; Yankee, Shea, and now Citizens Bank Park.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Bobak Ha'Eri under CC-BY-SA license

After the game, we had a choice to make...Pat’s or Geno’s. We make our way north a ways to find the center of the cheese steak universe on the corner of 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue. The two Philly Cheese steak legends duke it across the street from each other…Pat’s a kind of plain-Jane looking stand while Geno’s is a garish neon outpost that I don’t doubt can be seen from space.

Pat's and Geno's

Which one to choose? They both have their fans and detractors and both seem to be good so it came down to which one has the shortest line. At this time, that would be Geno’s so off we went.

Ordering at either of these places can be intimidating. Signs are posted on how exactly to order. Kind of in a Soup Nazi way, you make your way to the first window where you order your sandwich and you must be ready. Know what you want…steak sandwich; cheese type (provolone, wiz…cheese wiz, or American); wid (with onions) or widout. People who are indecisive are sent to the back of the line to start over. After the sandwich window you go to an adjacent window to get your drinks and fries.

At Geno’s, you are also faced with signs that proclaim that this is America, when ordering “speak English,” which has caused no shortage of controversy (and free publicity) in this town. Owner Joe Vento says his family had to learn the language when they came to America and encourages others to do the same. Despite the sign, he says he’s never refused anybody service due to their language but says that he can’t guarantee their order will be right if they don’t.

Once past the intimidating gauntlet of procuring your food, you take it to one of the outdoor tables and dig in. It is a delicious, juicy, cheesy, greasy pile of sliced rib eye on a bun. I have no dog in this fight, so if you are put off by Geno’s English bias, try Pat’s across the street where you just have to run the same drill in ordering. It’s a Philly thing and despite the intimidation factor, the people there are nice. Go for the unique experience and the delicious sandwich.

Across the street from our hotel is a station for the SEPTA commuter train. The next morning we leave the car behind and take the train into the city. At the Reading Station, we get breakfast at the adjacent Reading Market which is an expansive indoor market with produce sellers, butchers, meats, and more…kind of like an updated Italian Market. They have an Amish themed “Pennsylvania Dutch” section where we have some unbelievably good soft pretzels.

One more stop on the line puts us at Independence National Historical Park. Here is where you go to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

At the visitor’s center, we pick up our free tickets for a tour of Independence Hall. We have about an hour to wait (each ticket is good for a specific time), so we head across the street to Christ Church Burial Ground to find the grave of Benjamin Franklin. There are also four other signers of the Declaration of Independence buried here. We pay the $5 admission to get in, only to find that Franklin’s grave is right next to the fence…we didn’t need to go in to see it. It is covered with pennies from people who toss them on as a tribute to him…a penny saved is a penny earned.

Franklin's Grave

Wandering through the cemetery, I notice a fresh grave. I ask the caretaker if they still bury people here. Yes they do, although it is just for people who have already bought plots. They are selling no more but he said they’d make an exception if someone notable like a U.S. president wanted to be buried here.

It’s time, so we head over to Independence Hall for our tour. There is a security point manned by some very nice and patient people who go through every nook and cranny of your bags before passing you through the metal detector.

This is Where It Happened

Inside, we are lead by a ranger on a tour of the old courtroom which is across the hall from the meeting room where the Continental Congress met, drafted, and signed the Declaration of Independence. Of course, you can just feel the history oozing throughout even though most of the room is recreated. George Washington’s Sun chair at the top of the podium is the real deal though.

The tour continues upstairs and Letty goes on up while Tim and I wait below due to the inaccessibility. We are shown a photo album of what is upstairs while a ranger explains it to us.

When the tour is over, we wander around the shady grounds for a bit and explore the surrounding historic neighborhood. It is still hot and humid and I can imagine how our founding fathers must have felt without air conditioning in the beginning of summer.

Across the street, we go and see the Liberty Bell, which is in its own display building. Another security point must be negotiated before you see this but it requires no tickets or advance notice to see.

Our afternoon of history over, we wander over to the Delaware River, separating us from New Jersey, and find a Belgian pub with some great, refreshing brews to help cool us off before going back to our hotel.

And with that, we’re done with Philadelphia. Part 2 follows below and we travel to the land time forgot, Lancaster and Amish country.

-Darryl
Copyright 2010 - Darryl Musick

Los Angeles' Best Eats: Eastside Edition, Part 5

See the ever-growing list of our best Eastside Eats here!

Who doesn't want a big, meaty sandwich for lunch? On L.A.'s eastside, we have some very list worthy sandwiches, starting with a tasty, messy pastrami.

Not far from downtown, the first city you run into headed east is Alhambra. Back in 1951, Johnny Brown started an open-air lunch counter at the corner of Garfield and Valley Boulevard. It became very popular, especially for the massive pastrami dip sandwiches served there.

It's still there, under a different set of owners today, and still serving those delicious pastrami sandwiches.  It grew over the years to a chain of eleven locations from Simi Valley to Murrietta...all across the outer regions of the local area.

The Hat is as legendary locally as In 'n Out. Locals rave about the pastrami here, as they should. This is not the finely crafted, Jewish deli pastrami that you'll find at find establishments like Langer's, here in L.A., but the swimming in juice, piled dangerously high, gut bustingly delicious, fatty, thin sliced pastrami that you wish every burger bar could make.

Sadly, very few can compete with The Hat's version. Order at the right end of the counter then move to the left when the order taker attaches it to a clothes pin and slides it over to the assemblers. Watch as they grab an amazing amount of meat into their tongs and plop it on the bottom part of the bun. Watch again as they do it a second time...you're thinking "really? They expect to get that much meat on that thing?" Then the top half of the bun is dipped in the juice before being placed atop the meat (which has been dosed with pickles and mustard in the meantime). Somehow, the meat is squeezed in place long enough so that it can be wrapped in deli paper before being served.

Taking it to your table, you unwrap the sandwich. Be careful because now a good portion of that pastrami will start spilling out. You grabbed one of those plastic forks at the counter to be able to eat all those scraps, right? Stretch your jaw muscles out and take a bite. Oh, how that peppery, juicy, pastrami taste just envelops your taste buds.  You tell yourself you're just going to eat half the sandwich now and save the rest for later but then your stomach overrules you and you end up gobbling the whole thing since it's just that good.

Oh, how you'll waddle out of there. Especially after having a small order of fries, too, which will feed a nuclear family and still have some left over.

Besides pastrami, they have good burgers, an assortment of other sandwiches and chili to go on anything. Take a small bag of pickled peppers and help yourself to one of the great condiment bars in the fast food kingdom.

Whatever you do, you'll not leave The Hat hungry.

While The Hat makes a legendary pastrami, another San Gabriel locale makes one just as good and even a few cents cheaper. We have a couple of very good Italian delis in the 'other' valley but Capri Deli is the one who makes a pastrami to rival The Hat (picture at top).

You'll have to go to Covina, on industrial San Bernardino Road between Grand and Barranca Avenues to find this one because Capri is just one location, not a chain like The Hat.

Again, you'll be amazed at the piles of pastrami piled on the dipped bread (they dip the cheese here, too, if you add it to the sandwich). You'll also be amazed at the amount of napkins you go through trying to keep the fatty juice from escaping onto your clothes.

To me, it's almost a carbon copy of The Hat's pastrami. It is very delicious plus you can get a wide selection of wine, beer, and hard-to-find sodas to go with it.

No fries here but you can add chips, salad, or any of the deli side orders that are sitting in the deli case.  They also serve great pizza here, several pasta dishes, an outstanding salad with chicken, and antipasto.  The menu may be a bit to decipher as you stand in line. A main board is behind the counter but on another wall is the pasta menu, which is not the same wall as the pizza menu plus you might find a couple of signs advertising other entrees behind the stack of soda cups.

It's a good thing the long lines will give you time to find them all. You can also browse the small shop for Italian treats, groceries, and the separate cold deli to get cold cuts, cheeses, and arrange for catering jobs.

Not far from Capri Deli is a tiny little street called Shoppers Lane. It's a throwback to a time when you'd go to Main Street, find an appliance repair shop, a shoe store, a couple of bars, and any number of specialty shops that you just don't see anymore.

While there are some great little restaurants here...like the classic Georgia's Bun 'n Burger diner and Fonda don Chon...there is another great Italian deli on the other end, Old World Deli.

Like Capri Deli, it's got a separate cold deli and small Italian grocery store. It also has a vast selection of sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, and some of the best Broasted Chicken you'll find in the area.

While the location is sparkling, clean, and almost brand new,  Old World Deli is a long-time anchor in the area. The original location was a couple of blocks away at the Eastland Mall, next to the San Bernardino Freeway. When the mall was modernized, the landlords didn't think a non-chain, family run deli fit into their vision and evicted  Old World Deli.

The owners decided they didn't want to be at the whims of a landlord purchased the building they now reside it, and opened up a very spiffy new location.

We like the sandwiches, pizza, and chicken, but what makes this location stand out is their extensive salad bar. On Tuesdays, we can get two slices of thick, Sicilian pizza and an unlimited plate for the salad bar (or, like I do, get the half sandwich and unlimited salad bar). Starting off with the usual iceberg lettuce mix, then there's a spring salad mix, or spinach.  Half a dozen dressings are on standby (I usually just go with their 'house' dressing which is a garlicky ranch), toppings range from bacon, ham, cheese, sprouts, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, sunflower seeds...my mind's memory is running out but there's a ton of options here.

Of course, there are croutons, eggs, garbanzos, and beets to continue on. Oh my, there's just so much stuff.

I'll go back again for the fruit selection with always has tasty, fresh strawberries and they know how to get some very tasty honeydew, which is rare around here. Cantaloupe, orange slices, watermelon, grapes, and pineapple all find a way onto my plate. It's all so delicious.

My wife chooses the pizza and, since we're talking about pastrami, I go with half a pastrami sandwich. The pastrami here is the kind that has a more greasy taste to it, like the orange-sauced pastrami that used to call me to the long lost and lamented Kosher Burrito in downtown Los Angeles.

A slice of melted provolone and mustard on top make for a very tasty counterpart to all that healthy and salad that makes up the rest of the meal.

Along with the Covina location on Shoppers Lane, there's another Old World Deli on Mountain Avenue in Upland in the Inland Empire a few miles east.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: Alex Di Peppe's, Arcadia, California

We've tried to eat at Alex Di Peppe's a few times over the years at their old place but could never find a place to park. Finally, they moved down the road a bit to a small strip mall next to a 3-par golf course over in the east end of Arcadia.

We're glad they did. It's a solid Italian family restaurant with a very loyal clientele and a caring staff.

Although we started eating their family specials...where I could pick up a pizza, some pasta, bread, and salad on the way home from work when we didn't feel like cooking...Letty and I started coming by for dinner from time to time.

You might say it's your typical red sauce restaurant, and to some extent that's true, they do serve up some very good entrees along with all the pizza and pasta.

I'm a sucker for their veal dishes cooked scallopini, marsala, and picata  

Letty goes for the seafood or maybe a vegetarian lasagna.

The pizza and pasta dishes are also very good and the prices reasonable

Alex Di Peppe's is at the corner of 6th and Live Oak in Arcadia about a mile or so west of the 605 freeway.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: Old World Deli

Our home of the San Gabriel Valley is home to a few excellent Italian delis. Most people around here are familiar with Claro's, a small chain of Italian markets and delis.

There's more, and tonight we'll share one of our favorites with you, Old World Deli and Restaurant in Covina (there's also another outlet in Upland).

Old World has a different special each day, we come on Tuesday because it's pizza and salad bar day. The restaurant features one of the most extensive and fresh salad bars in the area. For around $12, you can eat your fill and more of this buffet of fresh vegetables, sweet ripe fruits, nuts, ham, eggs, cheese, bread, and more.  On top of that, you get two thick slices of Sicilian style pizza with your choice of two toppings.

This is Letty's dinner.  She creates a masterpiece of a salad, goes back for a fruit salad, and takes the pizza home.

I get the half sandwich and salad bar combo (available every day) with an excellent pastrami sandwich and my own trip or two through the salad bar.

It's an institution around here with friendly people, a great deli on the side, with great cookies for treats to take home.

Darryl

Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Pizza!

Originally, I was going to do this on my gas barbecue but my pizza pan wouldn't fit with the lid closed so it was off to the kitchen oven to cook.

There are two time consuming steps to this but this is another one you can do a few hours ahead of time and stick in the fridge until it's time to cook.  The first step is the sauce and the next is rolling out the dough, which not only takes time but is pretty labor intensive, too.

Except for the sauce, I bought all the other ingredients premade at a local Italian deli, Capri in Covina, California. That makes things a bit easier.

INGREDIENTS
16 ounces of pizza dough (you can make this yourself but I just buy it premade at a local Italian deli. You can also find it at Trader Joe's and other stores)
6 medium Roma tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 links Italian sausage
1/4 pound prosciutto
1/2 pound mozarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded quattro formagio (four cheeses, available at most supermarkets - substitute with a high quality shredded parmesan if you can't find it)

Sauce
Take 5 tomatoes (you may want to cut them in half first) and puree in a blender with 1 cup of water.

Cut the 6th tomato up into cubes.

Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan. Pour your pureed tomatoes on top of that and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then set to low to simmer. Put your tomato chunks, garlic, oregano, salt, and sugar into the mix and stir. Simmer for 2 hours or until reduced by two thirds. Stir occasionally during this time (maybe every 10 or 20 minutes). Taste a spoonful occasionally to see if the taste would be good on a pizza. Add ingredients to adjust, sparingly, until you get your perfect tast.

When sauce is thick, a little thicker than you'd want to serve on pasta, take it off of the heat.

Pizza
Preheat oven to 450 -500 degrees...very hot!

On a large, wooden cutting board, sprinkle about a quarter cup of flour and spread out over the board. Place dough on it and roll out flat. This will take quite some time as the dough will keep wanting to snap back to its original shape. Keep at it and, eventually, the dough will lose its elasticity and you'll have a flat dough. be very careful not to tear your dough.

Put a tablespoon of olive oil and coat it with a paper towel over a round pizza pan. Transfer your dough into the pan and, carefully, spread it to the edges.

Using a ladel, spread your sauce over the dough, leaving about a half inch clear around the rim to be able to hold your pizza slice later.  Put a think layer of mozzarella over the sauce. Put on your toppings (we're using Italian sausage and prosciutto but the sky's the limit on what you'd like to put on it). Sprinkle quattro formagio on it. 

Cover with another layer of mozzarella (I'm using a mozzarella ball for this and laying slices of it around the pie).

Put in oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Put parchment paper on your cutting board and transfer finished pizza pie to it once done. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

The Ethnic Foods of The San Gabriel Valley: Pizza

Cuisines covered in previous posts: Mexican, Cajun, Nepalese, Lebanese, Thai, Basque, Argentinian, Cuban, Vietnamese, English, Belgian, Spanish, Jewish, Greek, Greek Diner, Hawaiian, Salvadoran, Iranian, Armenian, Afghani, Indonesian, Korean, Cambodian, American, California Cuisine, Soul Food, Japanese, Filipino, Barbecue, French, Italian, Polish, Hungarian

Last week, we finished off the European cuisines that can be found in the San Gabriel Valley but we must add an addendum...pizza! 

Of course, when we talk about pizza here, what can be found is American pizza. Although mostly made by Italian Americans, it really bears little resemblance to the pizza you'd find in Italy. Our pies have evolved into several regional varieties like New York pizza, Chicago deep dish, and so on.

Actually, the best pizzas around here are found outside of the SGV, such as the pie at Red Devil (at the top of the page) in La Verne, Casa Bianca (just above) in Eagle Rock, and Tony's Little Italy down in Placentia for deep-dish.

It's not to say we don't have pizza here in the valley, there's lot's of it, just not a lot that rises above bad or mediocre.

We do have two we can recommend, each with two outlets in the San Gabriel Valley.

Carmine's in South Pasadena and Arcadia has some great pizzas. Each location is a comfortable, classic Italian dining room with friendly staff and great food. Beyond the pizza, the rest of the menu is good too.

Petrillo's...either at the very old school original location on Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel or at the newer outlet on Route 66 in Glendora...is the pizza all of us old-time San Gabriel Valleyites grew up with.

Cheesy, generous with the toppings, and...if you eat in the dining room...served with that great, freshly baked Petrillo's bread.

While I'd drive a little farther for the best pizza in Southern California, you can't go wrong with Carmine's or Petrillo's either.

Darryl
Copyright 2013 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Ethnic Foods of the San Gabriel Valley: Say Goodbye to Europe

Cuisines covered in previous posts: Mexican, Cajun, Nepalese, Lebanese, Thai, Basque, Argentinian, Cuban, Vietnamese, English, Belgian, Spanish, Jewish, Greek, Greek Diner, Hawaiian, Salvadoran, Iranian, Armenian, Afghani, Indonesian, Korean, Cambodian, American, California Cuisine, Soul Food, Japanese, Filipino, Barbecue

This week, we're going to finish the European cuisines that can be found in the San Gabriel Valley. 

While there's not a real big representation of eastern Europe here in the valley, you can find an outpost of Polish Food and Hungarian Food at the European Deli in Glendora.

There, you'll find an array of exotic sausages along with goulash, pierogis, bigos (a stew), and flaczki (a tripe soup).  

It's a regular deli, too, so you can get an array of sandwiches and everything is served quick and cheap.

French cuisine is pretty easy to find here in the SGV. What's hard to find is reasonably priced French Food.  There are good and expensive French restaurants all over Pasadena like Maison Akira, Cheval Bistro, and the highly regarded but seldom patronized Devon in Monrovia.

While in France, you can find delicious and cheap French food on every corner, here not so much but with a little digging, you can find a bit.

Crepe shops have been popping up with regularity lately. There's the very good Crepes de Paris chain in Orange County and the Inland Empire, Old Town Bistro in Monrovia with some decent food but slow service, and the forgettable Cafe LuMar in Monrovia. 

The best Creperie that we've come across is Monsiuer Crepe French Cafe in Sierra Madre, run by a nice Parisian ex-pat and his American wife, with a nice array of savory crepes, sandwiches, croissants, and desserts but the best thing is their sweet crepes like their salted caramel crepe or their crepe la rouge with raspberries and Chantilly cream. Heavenly, not too sweet, and very reasonable in price.

For a sit down, waitered French place, your options are basically three places that I know of.  Cafe Massilia in Monrovia is not too expensive and has a dedicated fan base. They're OK but I have had better. Remembering that Vietnam was a French colony in the past, it makes sense that a Vietnamese family could run an excuisite, white-linen, French restaurant with fantastic food at reasonable prices...you find that at La Vie in Rosemead.

Our go-to French restaurant for great food without breaking the budget is Cafe Bizou in Pasadena. Steak au poivre, Nicoise salad, steak frites, and bouillabaisse are some of the great dishes they have here. Bring your own wine and they only charge a $2 corkage fee.

The last European cuisine we have to cover is Italian Food.  We are well represented here in the valley with the Bitonti family's Domenico's chain, Carmine's in both South Pasadena and Arcadia, Petrillo's in San Gabriel and Glendora, and Caffe Opera and Bella Sera in Monrovia 

There are many more including some big name chains with "olive" in the name but our favorites are listed above. Carmine's and Petrillo's are great examples of family style red-sauce restaurants while you can find more refined cuisines at the two restaurants in Monrovia.

Darryl
Copyright 2013 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved